Minimally invasive surgeries performed by robotic surgical systems are known and commonly used in clinical procedures where it is advantageous for a human not to perform surgery directly. One example of such a system is the minimally invasive robotic surgery system described in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,155,315, entitled “Camera Referenced Control in a Minimally Invasive Surgical Apparatus.”
A common form of minimally invasive surgery is endoscopy. Endoscopic surgical instruments in minimally invasive medical techniques generally include an endoscope for viewing the surgical field, and working tools defining end effectors. Typical surgical end effectors include clamps, graspers, scissors, tissue cutters, staplers, or needle holders, as examples. The working tools are similar to those used in conventional (open) surgery, except that the end effector of each tool is supported on the end of, for example, an approximately 12-inch-long extension tube. To manipulate end effectors, a human operator, typically a surgeon, manipulates or otherwise commands a master manipulator. Commands from the master manipulator are translated as appropriate, and sent to a slave manipulator. The slave manipulator then manipulates the end effectors according to the user's commands. As the surgeon is somewhat removed from the movement of the end effector, the surgeon generally relies on feedback mechanisms, such as an endoscopic imaging, to determine the locations of the surgical tools within a patient's body. In general, in telesurgical systems, the surgeon is provided an “internal user interface.” This internal user interface includes a display that can be seen by the surgeon during the procedure.
Among the procedures performed in minimally invasive surgeries is the resection of tissue, which may include clamping, sealing and cutting of a body tissue. In a tissue sealing and cutting procedure, the end effector has mechanisms for sealing the tissue (e.g. RF energy, sutures, staples, etc.) and a cutting member (e.g. tissue cutter, blade, ablative energy). Typically, a sealing and cutting procedure involves the steps of clamping a tissue, sealing the clamped tissue on either side of a cutting line, then cutting the clamped tissue along the cutting line. If for any reason, the cutting process should stall or fail, this may present a hazard since the cutting member may remain in an exposed position. Removal of the end effector with the cutting member in this position may result in inadvertent cutting of other tissues proximal of the device or may present a hazard to the surgeon or other surgical staff once the tool is removed. Since cutting failure is a low occurrence event, and the surgeon's view of the cutting element may be obscured by the end effector, a surgeon may not maintain an accurate mental model of how the cutting element is positioned and moved, and may be unaware of the hazard presented by an exposed cutting element.
It would be desirable for systems and methods which provide indications and images that allow a physician to visualize and, more importantly, to habitualize themselves with the position and location of the tissue cutter during a procedure. Such methods would enable physicians to develop a intuitive “sense” for the how the tissue cutter operates so as to facilitate cutting and prevent potential tissue damage.